Having now followed the captain through a maze of small narrow corridors, they eventually arrived at a row of doors. Stopping in front of one, Charlie soon realised these were doors to individual cabins. The sign on the wall that read "Passenger Cabins" in big black letters might have also given it away. The captain opened the door to cabin number four, stepped over the raised step and entered while Charlie followed behind.
“Here you go young fellow, you can stow your backpack here,” the captain said in a slight haste. Gathering himself ready to leave, he quickly explained that the ship was due to leave port in less than a couple of hours, once all the cargo had been loaded and secured. The ship also must be ready to leave with the high tide for a safe exit. This being a whole new experience to Charlie, an excitement welled within him at the thought of seeing all this first hand. The captain walking backwards, dispatch papers at the forefront of his thoughts, bumped into the open door while attempting to finish his final words. Lastly, he suggested that Charlie make himself comfortable and come and find him on the bridge a little later.
As the captain rushed off, Charlie shouted a thank you for offering passage before turning around slowly to inspect his new home for the next couple of days. He was now very much aware of the weight on his shoulder, so he felt relief as he slipped off his backpack, placing it on the ordinary looking chair in the corner. His attention was caught by voices outside on the corridor, so he walked over and closed the cabin door.
Charlie took a deep breath in, sighed, and took a seat on the edge of the bunk. He had never been on a boat before, unless you were to count the time spent on a barge during one summer holiday when he was younger. So he was pleasantly surprised by the cabin. He was expecting something resembling a broom cupboard, but instead found himself sitting in what he thought was quite a spacious and almost luxurious room.
The cabin had its own bathroom and a comfy looking bed... a kettle with the usual teabag and sugar selection. There was a big couch along one wall, a coffee table, and a tall cupboard in the corner for hanging clothes. There was a lot of storage space under the bunk with several smaller individual lockers. Charlie giggled to himself as the thought struck him that he could even run around in circles, the cabin was that big. It certainly looked bigger than their guest room back home in Poxwold. But as the captain had pointed out that he was free to roam around the ship, he would not need to run around in circles in the cabin.
“I’m going to make the most of the time before the ship is ready to depart,” Charlie thought to himself, and with that he decided it was time to begin his journal. He grabbed his backpack, unzipped the lower pocket on the right hand side where he’d put the journal earlier for safe keeping, removed it, then made his way over to the sofa now feeling more settled. Opening the journal at the first page, pencil in hand, he began to write about his adventure so far.
It didn’t take him long before he had filled two sides and excitedly looked down at his watch thinking, “It must be close to leaving,” as he sprang up from the sofa to look out of the porthole. It was now getting close to sunset. The sky was beginning to change from the blue hue of the daytime sky, morphing into shades of burnt orange which reflected in the rippling water. Even though it was a busy working environment, with lots of cranes, trucks and noise, smells lingering in the air of fuel and grease and then there were those that he could just not recognise, and perhaps would prefer not to discover, he thought it was still a very magical place.
Gazing out of the porthole, Charlie was suddenly brought back with the sound of the ships horn which reverberated throughout the vessel.
“We must be getting ready to depart,” he suddenly realized, panicking slightly, not wanting to miss the ship leaving the dock. He replaced the journal into the safety of the pocket of the backpack. “Time to attempt to locate the captain on the bridge,” he thought.
Opening the solid cabin doo,r the ship suddenly sounded more alive in his ears. He heard the distant sound of loud voices trying to be heard over the banging of what he assumed were the last few items of cargo being secured prior to departure. Charlie decided to try to re-trace his steps back to the gangway where he first boarded. He remembered seeing a large sign on the wall next to the main stairs showing the layout of the decks.
He arrived back at the stairs by the gangway entrance, which was now secured, and looked at the sign on the wall. Charlie, in amazement, was surprised at how many decks there actually were... certainly more than he had thought. Having scanned the sign out of curiosity, he found out that the bridge was on the top deck. His heart raced with enthusiasm as he began to climb the steep and narrow stairs, remembering to make a mental note as to which deck his cabin was on. “Note to self, Deck D,” he muttered under his breath while making his way upwards.
While turning a corner on one flight of stairs, Charlie came face to belly with one of the ship’s crew.
“Who are you?” demanded a loud grumpy Italian voice.
As he looked up from staring at the belly, Charlie noticed a name badge which read "Federigo Romano - Chief Engineer."
“My name is Charlie. I’m a passenger, sir,” he replied, trying to appease this man’s tone. Looking up at the face of the crew member, he added that he was looking for the captain. The officer demanded to know just why he wanted to see the captain, adding that it’s normally mid-cruise when that usually happens, asking whether he had a complaint already.
A little puzzled by that last statement, Charlie politely replied by informing the officer that he had been invited by the captain to join him on the bridge, that he had been offered passage for helping with duties on board.
With a look of relief on his face, the officer suggested that he hurry as they were preparing to leave and instructed him to keep going up until he ran out of stairs. He then finished by demanding that he now move out of his way as he had work to do and didn't have time to stand around chatting.
Charlie moved against the side rail as far as he could, and with that the officer brushed passed him and continued to descend the stairs. Before Charlie could thank him, he was gone.
After that he did hope that the rest of the crew were not as grumpy as that person was, otherwise it was going to be a long couple of days.
He then continued to climb the steep sets of stairs, and it wasn’t long until finally he had reached the very last step. “Wow, thigh burn,” Charlie thought as stood on the top deck looking along a short corridor with a door straight ahead. He noticed that there was no handle on this side, but a sign in large bold letters stating, "No Entry to Unauthorised Personnel." Now Charlie didn’t know what to do, but being the cheeky chap that he was, he decided to knock anyway.
Charlie knocked on the door three times and waited. It was not long before he could hear footsteps getting louder, and suddenly, the door opened. There, standing before him was a smartly dressed female officer.
“Yes, what do you want? Can’t you read the sign?” snapped the crew member.
“Sorry, mam”, replied Charlie, “but the captain invited me to join him on the bridge.”
She told Charlie to wait there, closing the door, disappearing back into the room. Charlie tried to catch a glimpse through the door before it closed and could just make out several crew members busily going about their duties.
Moments later, the door reopened, and this time it was the familiar face of the captain. “Charlie, my boy, welcome to the bridge of the Pierre Tristran,” and with that the captain invited him in and formally introduced himself. “My boy, my name is Captain Macrina, and I’ve been looking after this beauty, as both man and boy, now for near on thirty years.”
Charlie was now standing on the bridge, and the captain introduced him to the other crew members who were on duty. It wasn’t long before he was explaining, in quite some detail, how the Pierre Tristran was classed as a freighter that, at its maximum, could carry about 4,500 containers and was 65,000 D.W.T.
“D.W.T, what does that mean?” Charlie asked the captain.
“Sorry, my boy,” chortled the captain. “Without being too technical, it means Deadweight Tonnage. It’s a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry while out at sea.”
Just as the captain was about to continue his explanation, he was interrupted by the first officer who announced that the ship was ready to depart and that they were just waiting for the tugs. The captain acknowledged his first officer and turned back to Charlie, saying in an almost excited tone,“Time to go to work! This is the second favourite part of my job, Charlie.”
Looking a little bewildered, Charlie responded “The second, Captain, so what is the first?”
“The first, my boy, is when we arrive at our destination. That’s my favourite part of my job.” And with a broad smile, the captain then instructed Charlie to stand over to one side so he could watch out of the port side window.
It wasn’t long before the tugs were in place and the heavy grease covered mooring lines were released from the dock cleats and hauled back on board the ship. The bridge had now come alive with activity as the tugs started to manoeuvre the ship away from the dockside. After about twenty minutes or so, the tugs had positioned the ship so that the engines could be started. After several heated exchanges between the captain and chief engineer over the internal intercom, the engines finally sprang into action. This allowed the tugs to release their ropes, and once at a safe distance the engines were increased and the ship juddered forward. As they took hold, the ship finally made its way slowly out of port.
The phone on the bridge rang and the captain answered. “Yes, permission to come aboard,” he replied then promptly hung up.
Charlie wondered just who was coming on board, but before his mind could wonder through all the different possibilities, there was a knock at the door. The first officer opened the door tipping his hat as a sign of acknowledgement, and in walked a very official looking person. The captain looked over to Charlie and explained that this was the pilot. His role was to navigate the ship down the channel and out into open water.
Charlie was watching everything that was happening on the bridge, and it did not take the pilot long before he had masterfully steered the ship into open water and handed control back to the captain. Papers were signed, and with a quick handshake, he left the bridge and made his way back to the waiting pilot boat, which would take him back to port.
Elation and intrigue raced through every fibre of his being, thrilled to witness such an event. Taking a breath now to settle himself, he gazed out of the window... out across the open water, the coastline now beginning to fade into the distance and the sky darkening.
“Well, my boy, it will soon be time for dinner” explained the captain. “I suggest you return to your cabin and come and join me in the mess shortly. Tonight you can be my guest at the captain’s table.”
Charlie thanked the captain for his invitation and left the bridge. Making his way down the stairs, Charlie tried to remember which deck he needed to stop at. In all the excitement he had forgotten. Pondering for a moment he thought, “Yep, that’s right, it was 4C.” Wondering down the corridor, Charlie pushed open a rather heavy cabin door and saw something that no impressionable young man should ever see! In a panic he quickly shut the door, muttering a very nervous apology to the occupants of the room, then quickly remembered, “Oh no, it was 4D, not 4C!”
Hastily, he rushed down the corridor back to the stairs, climbed one more level, finally making his way back to his cabin. Before opening the door he double-checked the number, and with great relief the sign read... "4D."
He opened the heavy cabin door, the weight of which he had not appreciated until that moment. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was the bunk. Suddenly, he felt tired and realised that it had been a long day, and although elated with joy. his body needed rest. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to the bunk and lay down. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he was asleep. Exhaustion had gotten the better of him.
It was still dark outside when Charlie woke. Sitting bolt upright and feeling a little disorientated, he wondered just how long he had been asleep for.
He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was after midnight already. Charlie had slept through dinner, and now he realised that he was feeling hungry as he hadn’t eaten anything all day. Thank goodness his mother had sneakily packed some food in his backpack before he left. With a smile on his face at the anticipation of opening the parcel, Charlie leapt off the bunk and straight over to where he had left his backpack earlier that day. With great excitement, he opened the pocket and pulled out the little package.
Sitting down now on the sofa, Charlie placed the package on the table in front of him. His mouth was beginning to water at the thought of the taste sensation that lay ahead. It had been a while since he had tasted one of his mother’s famous "travelling sandwiches.’" He began to peel back the ends of the neatly wrapped parcel, first the left side, then the right. He finished by opening the middle section to reveal something very special indeed.
To the uninitiated, the travelling sandwich looked just like any other sandwich, but to Charlie it had history... it had sentiment... it had a story. Looking at what lay before him on top of the grease-proof paper, Charlie decided it was time. Carefully he picked up the sandwich with both hands, lifting it slowly towards his mouth. He closed his eyes and bit a big chunk out of one corner. The explosion of flavours in Charlie’s mouth were so intense, he let out a rather loud groan of sheer delight. Realising what he had just done, he wondered if anyone heard him and laughed within. He savoured that first mouthful... the marriage of the differing flavours.... To Charlie this was a little piece of heaven. Then once that first mouthful was finished, it did not take Charlie very long to finish the rest. The last mouthful always being the saddest to take, but what a new memory he now had.
Being late, his hunger now satisfied, he decided to go back to bed, not taking long to wash his face, clean his teeth, and crawl back into his comfy bunk. He wondered if the noise of the ship slicing through the water would allow him to fall back off to sleep but guessed he would soon find out. Removing his watch and setting the alarm, Charlie climbed into the bunk, pulled the crisp white sheets up to his neck, closed his eyes, and settled down to sleep. Soon he could feel himself drifting, helped by the rhythmic drone of the ships engines and the gentle motion of the ship moving through the water.
Woken by his alarm, Charlie rubbed his eyes and was soon sitting up in bed, surprised as he normally woke before the loud beep sounded. “Well, I guess I didn’t have to worry about the noise of the ship keeping me awake,” he chuckled to himself. It was morning already, and the sun was streaming through the porthole. “No time to waste; there’s a ship to explore!” Charlie stated out loud, and with that, Charlie sprang out of his bunk, straight into the bathroom.
Usual bathroom jobs taken care of, it did not take Charlie long before he was rummaging deeply into the main pocket of his backpack, looking for something suitable to wear. He neatly removed items of clothing until finding just the right thing... a cleaner version of exactly the same thing he wore the previous day. For, Charlie was not one for clothes based on the current trend but went more for practicality.
Dressed, bunk tidied, the wrapper on the table left from the midnight snack scrunched up and discarded into the waste-bin, Charlie left the cabin and headed back to the main stairs. Looking at the sign on the wall, the officer’s mess was just two decks above. Charlie quickly turned towards the narrow stairwell, and without delay extended his stride to take two steps at once, arriving on Deck F in no time. Charlie now faced another sign on the opposite wall to the stairs, showing directions again to the mess.
A short brisk walk and he was standing outside the entrance. Charlie tried the handle, but found it to be locked. He realised that in all his excitement, he hadn’t checked the time. Looking at his watch he realised he had another twenty-five minutes to wait until the mess would be open and breakfast served. Fidgeting on the spot after only a minute, he decided to have a walk around and hopefully not get into any trouble. After all how could he stand at a door for twenty-five minutes when there was a whole ship yet to explore?
He headed back to the stairs... then a decision to be made... up or down? As he couldn't decide, he thought he would flip a coin. Rummaging through his trouser pocket, he pulled out a coin and decided that heads would be up, tails would be down.
With a quick flick of his fingers, he sent the coin spinning skywards with a little too much excitement; the coin then hit one of the many pipes traversing the ceiling and ricocheted down the corridor. Charlie saw it disappear rapidly under the gap of one of the doors. Moments later, as Charlie tried to decide what to do, the door flew open and there stood the very grumpy looking "chest" that Charlie had bumped into the day before.
Before he could look up, he heard a grumpy harsh voice saying “You again. I assume this is yours,” as the coin appeared in front of Charlie’s face.
Charlie confirmed that it was indeed his, but before he could finish his explanation, the officer told him to choose heads or tails. Charlie was informed that if he won, he would get it back, and if he lost... well he knew the answer to that he thought, as he stared into the face of the grimacing officer.
Without a moment of hesitation Charlie called, “Tails.”
“Tails it is then,” responded the officer, and with a quick flick it was up in the air, caught by one hand, with the other placed over the top. Removing the hand that was covering the coin, the officer’s slight brazen grin turned upside down, as he realised he had thrown tails, noting the rather ugly portraiture of the king staring sternly back at him from the coin. Begrudgingly, he handed it back to Charlie, stepped back into his room, and slammed the door behind him. Standing there for a moment, Charlie looked at the coin in his hand and smiled knowingly at the image.
“Tails wins again,” Charlie whispered, and turned the coin over... “every time,” as the exact same image became visible on the reverse side of the coin. “Most people know about the double-headed coin, but not one with two tails,” Charlie thought, letting out a cheeky snigger. The coin safely back into his pocket, he walked back in the direction of the officer’s mess, taking his time to look at the varies signs pointing towards several of the communal rooms. "Wow, this is so exciting," Charlie thought, smiling broadly as he arrived back at the mess.
By the time he had arrived back at the officers mess, he did not have to wait for too long before a member of the crew unlocked the door from inside then invited him in.
“You must be one of our passengers. Please come in and find a place to sit. I’ll be with you in a moment,” the crew member told Charlie, and with that disappeared through a revolving door into what Charlie assumed must be the galley. Having entered the mess, Charlie looked around the room. There were four tables which had been set up for breakfast and another long table against one of the walls. The air in the room was filled with the various aromas you would expect at breakfast: baked bread and croissants, eggs being fried, the smell of sweet smoked bacon being grilled, and all accompanied by the smell of freshly ground coffee.
Charlie was not in the room by himself for long as other people began to filter in and find a seat. Then Charlie saw the captain enter the room through the revolving door who, upon seeing Charlie, walked over.
“Good morning, Charlie. Did you sleep well?” the captain asked.
“Good morning, Captain. Yes, I did, though I think I was more tired than I realised,” replied Charlie politely and proceeded to explain to the captain the events of the previous evening.
Breakfast was soon underway, and the room was busy with activity. Busboys dressed in grey jackets were rushing here and there, taking orders from the mix of officers and passengers that had now descended on the mess. Returning rather promptly with hot plates of cooked breakfasts, or bowls of steaming porridge out of the kitchen, as well as bringing out jugs of tea and coffee that were then placed in the middle of the tables before empty plates were cleared and taken back to the kitchen. It was all quite hectic, yet efficient, Charlie realised, as breakfast was only served during very specific times due to the operation of the ship.
Breakfast now over, Charlie received an invitation from the captain to see the workings of the ship, which he eagerly accepted. Upon leaving the mess, they made their way to the bridge stopping every so often for a brief chat with a crew member or passenger. The captain’s presence intrigued Charlie. Although seeming stern, he had a certain disposition about him that didn’t seem to fit. First on the list of duties for the captain would be a hand-over briefing from the night watch. Once finished, they would be dismissed and a briefing for the day watch would be conducted.
Charlie's attention was caught by the sound of boots scuffing along the steel deck, and voices with different accents grew louder as the officers arrived on the bridge. With everyone now present, the meeting promptly commenced and was conducted in a very precise manner. Everyone present, apart from Charlie, knew their role... what to report and when to report it. The meeting was swift, with details of events that occurred during the night quickly discussed. The captain was informed of any important radio messages that had been received, before the meeting was concluded. As quickly as everyone had arrived, they were gone... going about the days duties. But not the night duty crew.... They were off to their bunks for a well earned sleep.
The next job on the captain’s list was an inspection of the ship. He invited Charlie to continue on with him if he’d like. Charlie instantly accepted, explaining that it would be awesome to keep tagging along, anticipation raising the tone of his voice. Charlie was eager to see as much of the workings of the ship as he possibly could.
“Okay then, let’s go!” the captain informed Charlie, smiling back at the enjoyment he saw in the young lad's eyes.
The captain was off like a greyhound out of the trap as Charlie tried to keep up. “Much to get done, and not much time to do it in,” the captain explained.
“I’ve heard of a running commentary,” Charlie chuckled to himself while simultaneously trying to not fall behind.
All the while as they made their way upstairs and through corridors, opening and closing large heavy bulky doors as they went, the captain was telling Charlie about his ship. He described the various operations in quite some detail. At times, it was difficult for Charlie to understand what the captain was saying. He noticed that in the captain’s own enthusiasm, at times, he forgot to speak in English!
They were in and out of various rooms with quick exchanges of words between the captain and many of the crew members that they met along the way. Charlie had noticed the captain took time to speak to every member of his crew, often exchanging a random joke along the way. Sadly for Charlie, they were always in Italian. Charlie had to keep pinching himself to remember that this was not a dream. As he was on board a working cargo ship and only days before this was sitting at home in the small cosy town of Poxwold.
After some time and having passed through the laundry room, they arrived at a big heavy looking door at the end of the corridor, located deep in the bowels of the ship. As they walked through the door on the side of the passage, it was like they had entered a whole new climate zone. They had entered... the engine room!
The door itself was intimidating with big notices that read; "Danger! High Noise Level. - Wear Ear Protection." "Caution! Wear Eye Protection." "When Alarm Sounds, Vacate at Once!" Once you opened the door, you were immediately overcome by the piercing whine of the engines. Thankfully, one of the engineers handed both the captain and Charlie a pair of ear phones each.
The captain, having to raise his voice over all the noise, went on to explain that the ship had six engines. Charlie leaned in uncovering one of his ears to hear what was being said. The forward three, which were 2,100 horse power each, were used to power the ship’s motors. The rear three, which were much smaller the captain explained, ran the ship’s services such as lights, computers, kitchen appliances, washing machines, air circulation, and also ran the ship’s motors in an emergency. The captain was continuing to inform Charlie that not all the engines ran at once, however, as usually only one of the large engines would run at a time
The captain was so distracted explaining about the engine, he was momentarily unaware of the appearance of the chief engineer.
“Charlie, let me introduce you to the ship’s Chief Engineer, Federigo Romano. We have sailed together since we were young lads starting out,” the captain said, hand on his shoulder.
“How’s she running?” the captain asked.
The response Charlie heard from the chief engineer led him to think all was not going well, even though he didn’t fully understand the terms used.
Despite enjoying the experience, once they had finished their exchange, Charlie asked the captain whether they could leave the engine room, saying he was getting rather hot, which was made noticeable by the beads of sweat now forming on Charlie’s brow, and dripping down his back, a sure sign it was time to leave. The captain grinned and took the ear phones off of Charlie, handing both pairs back to the engineer as they hastily exited the engine room.
Once out, Charlie asked if everything was okay as he thought the chief engineer did not look too pleased. The captain responded by saying he, too, was displeased as the engine had been giving them some trouble for a while, and the owner would not agree to have it looked at until the next dry dock date. But with a look of relief on his face, he explained that the ship was due for its five year overhaul very soon, and the engine would be looked at then. But until then, the chief engineer would remain somewhat tetchy because he continually had to patch it in order to keep it going. Charlie asked whether he was always that grumpy with people or was it just the engine trouble. The captain went on to explain that the chief engineer was a little "old school" and thought that passengers had no place on board a cargo ship.
“That explains a lot,” Charlie said, and he told the captain about the earlier incident with the coin.
Pulling the coin out of his pocket, Charlie showed the captain, first one side and then the other. The captain laughed, labelling Charlie a cheeky chappie, but insisted that Charlie keep that between the two of them, for the chief engineer would not see the funny side.
Once the two of them stopped laughing about the coin, they continued their journey again down the many corridors and passing many rooms entering just a few more.
Several hours had now passed, and they were again standing on the top deck which was the same level maybe as the captain’s quarters. The captain stood outside his door, and explained that he must leave him now as he had paperwork to catch up on. Charlie happily thanked him for the tour and decided to return to his cabin for a while. The captain’s parting words were to invite Charlie to join him for dinner later again but to try not to sleep through it this time. Parting company, there was laughter in the air from the captain’s comment as he entered his quarters, now securing the door behind him.
What the captain hadn't mentioned was that he had to get back to his quarters to let out his pet Cockatiel, Bubbles, who travelled everywhere with him. While docked at a middle eastern port, having been delayed by a late arriving shipment, the captain took the opportunity to visit one of the local souqs. While passing one of the many street traders, his attention was drawn to a small bird cage buried beneath several others. The commotion that was coming from this cage prompted the captain to stop and inspect it. He knelt down and looked inside to see a small, grey and white ball of feathers cowering in the far corner in fear while being pecked by several larger birds.
Witnessing this dismal sight, the captain felt compelled to rescue this poor little creature and provide it a safe, loving home. He haggled for many minutes until finally a price was agreed that included a small cage. Hands were shaken, and the small bundle of quivering feathers was rescued.
The captain looked on as the trader reached in and grabbed the bird in his grubby han, before unceremoniously depositing it in the smaller cage. He handed it over to the captain who immediately headed back to his ship. Looking at the new member of his crew, he knew that this bird would require much love, care, and attention, and he was just the person for the task.
Bubbles loved to sit on the captain’s shoulder while he was at his desk, often grabbing the attention of the captain with a gentle nibble, her way of asking for more scratches. That’s if she wasn’t sitting on the ledge of the closed porthole investigating what was going on in the world outside. She had been the captain's companion for so long now, he had even had a mobile aviary made on ship, beautifully disguised as an old shipping container as to not incur too much attention.
Every so often he would let her out into the aviary, open up the sides, and the two of them would sit there for hours looking out over the sea. It was a little escape for the captain, and he cherished moments like these.
Once back in his cabin, Charlie reached for his journal inspired by the day